How to Write About Moments of Fear or Doubt

"Welcome back to The Legacy Project Podcast, where we explore the power of storytelling to preserve truth, pass on wisdom, and connect hearts across generations. I’m your host, Don Fessenden, and today we’re digging into one of the most vulnerable and powerful parts of any life story: how to write about moments of fear or doubt.

These are the parts of our stories we often hesitate to share—the questions we didn’t have answers to, the decisions we weren’t sure about, the nights we lay awake wondering if we were enough. But here’s what I’ve learned: when we write honestly about our fears and doubts, we don’t diminish our strength—we reveal it.

In this episode, we’ll walk through how to approach these moments with care, clarity, and courage—so that they become sources of connection, healing, and legacy. Let’s begin."

Let’s walk through this together, with care."

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Transcript

Don: 0:10

"Welcome back to The Legacy Project Podcast, where we explore the power of storytelling to preserve truth, pass on wisdom, and connect hearts across generations. I’m your host, Don Fessenden, and today we’re digging into one of the most vulnerable and powerful parts of any life story: how to write about moments of fear or doubt. These are the parts of our stories we often hesitate to share: the questions we didn’t have answers to, the decisions we weren’t sure about, the nights we lay awake wondering if we were enough. But here’s what I’ve learned: when we write honestly about our fears and doubts, we don’t diminish our strength: we reveal it. In this episode, we’ll walk through how to approach these moments with care, clarity, and courage: so that they become sources of connection, healing, and legacy. Let’s begin.""Fear and doubt are universal. Everyone has known that feeling of uncertainty: the lump in the throat before a hard conversation, the uneasiness before a big decision, the self-doubt that creeps in when life doesn’t go as planned. But when we tell our stories, we often want to skip over those parts. We want to show our strength, our growth, our success. And that’s natural. But here’s the truth: your strength becomes even more powerful when people understand what you had to push through to find it. By writing about moments of fear or doubt, you give future generations a real gift: permission to be human. You show them that it’s okay to question, to struggle, to be unsure: and to keep going anyway.""You don’t have to write about every hard moment. Start by choosing one experience where fear or doubt played a defining role. Maybe it was: A medical diagnosis that changed your path. A moment of failure when you weren’t sure how to recover. A life decision: marriage, career, parenting: where you didn’t feel ready. Or even a quiet moment of crisis, when the outside world looked fine, but the inside world felt shaky. Ask yourself: What was I afraid of? What didn’t I know at the time? And what did I learn from standing in that fear? This is where reflection starts to turn pain into meaning.""When writing about fear or doubt, the key is to be honest, but not overwhelmed. You don’t have to relive the pain in vivid detail: but you do need to let your reader feel it with you. Try writing the moment like this: Describe what was happening externally. Then pause, and describe what was happening internally: the questions, the anxiety, the uncertainty. Don’t try to clean it up too quickly. Don’t rush to the lesson or silver lining. Sit with the tension. That’s where the real connection is found. But also remember: you know how the story ends. You made it through. So write from both the place of fear and the place of strength: let them coexist on the page.""The most powerful part of fear and doubt is often what they teach us. Think about it—fear can show you what you care about. Doubt can push you to dig deeper. Sometimes, our most uncertain moments reveal our truest values. When you write your story, reflect on how the fear shaped your next steps: Did it make you more compassionate? Did it lead you to lean on others, or find faith? Did it show you that courage isn’t about having no fear, but about acting despite it? By including these reflections, you’re not just writing about the moment: you’re transforming it into a part of your legacy.""Remember, your story isn’t just for you: it’s for the people who come after you. And one day, they’ll face their own fear and doubt. Your words can be the light they hold onto in the dark. You don’t have to have all the answers. You just have to share the truth of your experience: and the wisdom that came from it. One storyteller I worked with wrote about the moment she almost walked away from college. She didn’t wrap the story in a bow. She simply wrote,‘I didn’t believe in myself that day. But someone else did. And that gave me just enough strength to stay.’ That sentence became the most quoted part of her memoir. Why? Because it was real. And that kind of honesty has power.""As we close today’s episode, I want to remind you: fear and doubt don’t make your story weaker: they make it human. They make it relatable. And when handled with care, they make your story unforgettable. So go back to that moment. That crossroads. That night when you weren’t sure how you’d move forward. Revisit it with tenderness. Write it with courage. Let the honesty speak for itself. If you’re looking for tools to help you tell these stories with balance, care, and emotional safety, you’ll find prompts and reflections in my book, The Legacy Project: A Guide to Sharing Your Story. Thank you for joining me on The Legacy Project Podcast. Keep writing, even through the doubt. Keep sharing, even through the fear. And above all: leave your legacy with honesty. I’ll see you next time."